A Zutara Continuation
by Zutara44
Summary: One thing that the author of Avatar did was leave it hanging. This is the continuation of Avatar: the Last Airbender where Zutara takes the stage :) enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

(Quick note: I do not own Avatar in any way shape or form! This is my first time writing a fan fiction so let me know what you think! I'm hoping to get one chapter up for Zutara month)

Chapter One: Revealed

The day dawned bright, but Zuko knew that there was nothing bright about it. Yeah, they won the war, his father was in prison and the gaang was alright, but he knew that the turmoil inside of him was far from over. Ozai refused to tell him where his mother was and the fire nation was restless. Zuko was stuck with the inevitable task of reshaping his broken nation. New school books and curriculum, troop relocations, war rehabilitations, and much more oh-so-fun chores. But he was too distracted and emotionally confused to focus on his nation at the same time. Why must that waterbender insist on taking over his every thought? And Mai, poor Mai, was stuck somewhere in the middle, though she has been acting a little off lately. The last month or so had been . . . weird. He still liked Mai, even if she didn't show emotions towards, well, anything, but this stupid, strong, horribly independent, beautiful water tribe peasant kept creeping into his thoughts despite his efforts to push them away. It was easier right after the war ended because he was constantly distracted with council meetings and such, but now that things have settled down he missed the blue eyed warrior. Badly. UGH, WHY on EARTH did she refuse to leave him alone?! He started pushing all thoughts of Katara away by focusing on the council meeting with Aang and the leaders of the other nations that would start in a half hour. Zuko began pacing in the hallway, lost in his thoughts, when he was stopped by Mai.

"Hey, Zuko. Can I talk to you for a second?" she asked. Zuko got worried, but about what? He had no clue.

"Uh, yeah, of course." He smiled weakly.

"We can't be together anymore. I've seen the way you look at that waterbender. She's a strong warrior, I can see why you would like her." She said. He was confused, "But, Mai, I like you!"

"But not as much as you like her and you know it. And while I was imprisoned in the Boiling Rock, I sort of met someone." She confessed.

Zuko was furious, "What does he have that I don't? Muscles? An unscarred face?!" He could feel his body temperature rise.

"No, Zuko, you are! She just makes me feel . . . something." He paused to process that, stuttering "uh…" while nervously rubbing the back of his neck the back of his neck.

"That girl would be more tolerant of this boring palace life. If I become the fire lady, I'll never get to leave. I want to travel with Toru, not be stuck in this cage. So go get her, Zu." Zuko didn't know what to think.

"But Katara is the Avatar's girl and I-"he didn't want to lie to Mai and say that he doesn't want Katara, because he did.

"I wouldn't be so sure. Sorry Zuko." And she left him alone in the hallway. Zuko was stunned! After everything they've been though, she leaves him for a traveling lesbian. He threw an angry blast of fire towards the door that she closed. He was contemplating burning it down when the clock struck the hour. He was late to the meeting! He rushed into the previously named "War Room" to find everyone there: Aang, Uncle Iroh, Hakoda, Arnook, Bumi, and Kuei. Aang started off the meeting, "So now that we're all here, let's talk about trade routes." Zuko thought that his voice was sullen and heavy. He'd have to ask what was wrong later. The meeting trudged on boringly with everyone settled on a happy compromise by the end. Zuko dismissed everyone, asking Aang to stay behind.

"So, uh, what's on your mind? You sounded upset earlier." There was a long pause.

"I just can't believe she left me! I gave her everything. EVERYTHING! But just because I don't want to ever want to settle down, I mean I'm a nomad for crying out loud, she feels like I'm not the one for her! I just don't want to live in the same place for the rest of my life!" Zuko didn't know what to say. He felt bad for the young Avatar as he stormed off, but Zuko had the strangest feeling in his stomach. Like a messenger hawk trying to escape from its cage . . .


	2. Chapter 2

(Quick note: I do not own ATLA in any way shape or form. So here's Chapter Two for the second week of Zutara Month! Hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think!)

Surprise Visits

After Zuko heard about Katara leaving Aang, he became even more distracted than before. He started thinking more about his few weeks with her previous to the last battle of the war. Katara truly was a beautiful warrior, although she did show a lot of concern for Aang during that time. Zuko only hopped for her to accept him as a friend on that cliff, but seeing her determination to avenge her mother's death . . . it made Zuko admire her immensely. And he couldn't deny the change in his heart rate when she hugged him back at the camp. He'd do anything to have her in his arms like that again. He snapped out of his daydream when he heard a knock on his door.

"Enter," Zuko said while shuffling the scrolls on his desk into a pile.

His guard peeked in to say, "Sir, General Iroh is here to see you."

Zuko rushed to clean up his desk as Uncle entered. "Hello, Uncle, what are you doing here? Who's watching the Jasmine Dragon?" Uncle ignored Zuko's questions.

"Zuko, you look stressed. How about some tea?" Zuko stood up, causing all of the scrolls to fall off of his desk. He hung his head and sighed, then stepped over the mess in defeat to follow Uncle. They walked down to the turtle-duck pond in silence. It was a quiet place this time of year with the low autumn sun turning the whole sky as red as the tree's fallen leaves. The pond was usually filled with the quacks and splashes of turtle-ducks, but with the weather changing, they were gone in search for warmer waters. Zuko sat at the base of the tree while Uncle poured the tea into cups.

"So what's on your mind, Zuko?" Uncle asked.

"Just, uh, Firelord duties, I guess." Zuko took a sip of his tea. He would never admit this, but he loved Uncle's tea.

"You know, Nephew, I had this costumer come in last week asking for a table for two. I thought you had stopped by, until this shorthaired bouncy girl sat across from Mai." Zuko rubbed the back of his neck nervously and poured himself more tea.

While he used firebending to warm his tea, Uncle continued," I had to ask how she had pink hair. I was amazed! Bright pink hair by washing it with berries and tea! Can you believe that?! Tea used to change hair color! Anyways, we kept talking and Mai told me everything. Why didn't you tell me about Katara?"

Zuko started rubbing the back of his neck again. "I don't know what you're talking about." Zuko stood up. The sun had fallen below the mountains, turning everything into cold shades of grey. He began walking into the warm palace with Uncle following close behind.

"You can't just walk away from this. You will have to find a firelady eventually Zuko."

Uncle's words made blood rush to Zuko's face. _Firelady Katara? _No. "I don't have to choose right now. And I'm tired, Uncle. Goodnight."

Uncle put a hand on Zuko shoulder and stopped him. "You never know, Nephew. Destiny can be a funny thing. Go get your rest. I'll see you in the morning." And they went their separate ways to their chambers.

The next morning Zuko woke up to a light frost outside and a pounding in his head. He was up all night with thoughts and images of Katara chasing unconsciousness away from him. He got out of his nightgown and into his formal robes. Zuko sat down for breakfast without an appetite. He barely touched his food and once Uncle finished his, he told Zuko to go to the healers. Uncle claimed that even tea couldn't fix that head ache so Zuko left to go see them. He doubted that they could do anything about it, but he figured that he should do what Uncle says. He was a couple of yards from the door to the healer's room when he was stopped by the sound of laughter. Very familiar laughter. Zuko shrugged it off and walked through the door. He scrunched up his eyes trying to clear his head. When he opened them up again, he saw the most beautiful blue eyes he had ever seen. Wait a minute . . . "Katara?!"


End file.
